A tour guide rescued a tourist and was trampled to death by an elephant. Has the National Tourism Administration intervened?

A Chongqing tour guide who was rescuing people from Thailand was trampled to death by an elephant.

Two other Chinese tourists were injured in the incident, and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and the National Tourism Administration have intervened.

On December 21, an elephant injured a person at the Elephant Camp of the Golden Triangle Fruit Park in Chonburi Province, Thailand. He Yongjie, a 35-year-old Chongqing tour group leader, was unfortunately trampled to death by an elephant while protecting tourists. It was previously reported that the elephant went berserk and hurt people because it was angered by tourists pulling its tail. However, the Thai police responded on the 22nd that there is currently not enough evidence to confirm that the elephant was angry when its tail was pulled by someone, and the specific cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Chongqing tour leader died trying to save tourists

According to reports, on the afternoon of the 21st, an elephant for tourists to ride in an elephant camp in Pattaya, Thailand suddenly became angry and rushed around tourists. Unfortunately, a Chinese tour leader was trampled to death by an elephant, and two other Chinese tourists were injured. The reporter learned from the Chongqing Tourism Bureau that the tour leader who died was an employee of a tourism company in Chongqing, and has now contacted his travel agency.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, the Chongqing Tour Guide Association issued a statement on the matter. The statement stated that at around 5:30 pm on December 21, 2017 local time, an elephant stampeded and injured people in Pattaya, Thailand. In the incident, Chongqing tour guide He Yongjie was trampled to death by an elephant while trying to rescue a guest. The Chongqing Tour Guide Association emphasized in its statement: "We pay tribute to the Chongqing tour guides who sacrificed their precious lives to rescue tourists in distress, and strongly condemn the uncivilized behavior that does not obey the rules and causes trouble." It also stated that it will fully protect the legitimate rights and interests of tour guides and provide Rights protection services and humanitarian assistance to assist with aftermath matters.

Soon, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand also responded to the matter. The embassy stated that after the incident, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand attached great importance to it and immediately requested the Thai side to properly preserve the remains of the deceased and make every effort to treat the injured Chinese tourists. The embassy has also sent personnel to the hospital to visit the injured tourists. Next, it will provide necessary assistance to the injured and the families of the deceased within the scope of their duties, and properly handle the follow-up treatment.

As of the afternoon of the 22nd, one injured person has been discharged from the hospital, and the other injured person is still receiving treatment and his life is not in danger. The owner of the fruit orchard has contacted the insurance company to settle the medical expenses of the injured and provide compensation.

The reason why the elephant injured people is still under investigation

It is understood that the team leader He Yongjie who died while rescuing people was 35 years old and an employee of Chongqing Beiguo Holiday International Travel Agency. When the incident of elephants hurting people was exposed, witnesses said that the inappropriate behavior of two Chinese tourists angered the elephants, so they were chased by the elephants. He Yongjie was unfortunately killed when he went to rescue the tourists. "It was said that a guest pulled the elephant's tail. The elephant got angry and chased the guest who pulled the tail. When the leader went to rescue the elephant, he pulled the guest out and ran away too late."

After that, This news was widely reproduced on major domestic websites and caused many netizens to condemn dangerous behaviors such as tourists pulling elephant tails. However, according to the Thai police, there is currently not enough evidence to confirm that the elephant became angry because its tail was pulled by Chinese tourists, and the specific cause of the accident is still under investigation.

The reporter noticed that the Thai media that first reported the incident said when introducing the incident that two foreign tourists were experiencing the elephant riding project when the incident occurred. When passing by a group of waiting tourists, someone pulled them. licks the elephant's tail and causes the elephant to become angry. The elephant charged into the crowd and eventually trampled a tour guide to death. The elephant that hurt people is a 17-year-old male.

The report did not mention which country the two tourists riding the elephant were from, nor did it mention who pulled the elephant's tail. In a handwritten account of the incident disclosed by the media, Tian Maoxi, who claimed to be a member of the tour group led by Ho Yongjie, said: "Seven or eight of our team members were chatting with the tour leader in the parking lot when suddenly there were two tourists (not from our country). "The elephant he was riding went crazy and rushed down the slope."

The National Tourism Administration intervened in the incident

Mr. Zhang has been leading tour groups in Thailand for more than ten years. He told reporters that the elephant When some domestic tour groups travel to Thailand, they will arrange elephant performances for tourists. “The elephants that perform for tourists are all domesticated. Performances such as elephants giving massages to guests and riding elephants are already commonplace, and guests are all used to it. They are very cooperative and the elephants are also very docile. Unless you provoke the elephant and anger it, it is impossible for the elephant to behave aggressively."

According to him, in order to prevent accidents during animal performances, every activity is carried out. Every time before boarding the plane, the tour guide will hold a "briefing session" with tourists to explain some precautions, and there is a video as evidence to prevent accidents. "Our travel agency has more than 100 tour leaders leading tours in Thailand every year, but they are Animal attacks have never happened before. Every time we arrive at a scenic spot, the group leader and the ground guide will repeat the safety issues. However, we believe that for an adult, you cannot pull the elephant's tail or provoke it. "Wild animals, this should be a common sense issue, so we will not emphasize it particularly." On the afternoon of the 22nd, the National Tourism Administration issued a message on its official Weibo saying that the National Tourism Administration was highly concerned about this incident. We took it seriously and asked our tourism office in Bangkok to learn about the situation as soon as possible, express condolences to the family members of the team leader who had gone to Thailand, visit the injured tourists, and assist in handling the incident; and instruct the Chongqing Tourism Development Committee to handle it promptly and properly.